Are Councils or the Highway agency going to face the biggest bill for climate change?

The recent devastating hurricanes fuelled by warmer oceans are clear evidence of climate change. The argument over whether climate change is man-made is somewhat moot; the change in rain fall patterns that we are now experiencing will have major implications on our local infrastructure. Climate change’s immediate cost may need to be budgeted for by local councils and the Highway Agency and the cost could be astronomical simply due to the design capacity of drains.

Most humble drains were designed around the rainfall pattern of the 1950s. The soft patter of constant drizzle that gave the UK a reputation for constant need for umbrellas is really a thing of the past. The recent rainfall we have experienced often resembles monsoons for a good reason; the warmer oceans in the Far East are being replicated here. Drizzle is replaced by torrential downpour. The news is almost boring if a record amount of water, say a months’ worth, is being recorded falling from the skies in a couple of hours. Heavy rain warnings are becoming far more common, which raises the simple question where does the water go?

The obvious answer is the drains, but here is where it gets expensive. The drains were never designed to take the amount of water that these sudden downpours dump. The capacity of drains, an unexciting issue until it is exceeded, is becoming a nationwide problem. Once drains capacity is reached and water is still falling back flooding takes place. This is a serious issue because the most expensive and socially disruptive floods are through back-flooding from drains and sewers back up pipes into people’s homes. A house that has been flooded by sewerage will need the plaster hacked off, the property dried out which can take months before it can be plastered. In Carlisle some houses flooded in 2015 were flooded again before the properties had been dried out. The insurance cost is high but a house that is flooded through under-capacity in local drains is still seen as a flood risk even if it is on top of a hill, a situation that happened when parts of Hull flooded in 2007.

How much will it cost to relay drains that meet rainfall patterns over the next decade? I have absolutely no idea but it will be multiples of billions. Local Authority budgets are already squeezed and who pays the bill will be a real political issue soon. To finish on a positive note there is a way to stop back flooding by sewerage. Fill sandbags and stick them into the toilets when local flooding starts because without a lot of investment it might be the only option.